The present invention relates to user interface computer technology and more particularly to a method, system and program product for enhancing a computer user""s comprehension of data presented on a computer display.
Computer displays have been used for a long time to present computer-generated data to human users. The formats used to present the data and the steps that a user had to take to respond to that data (referred to collectively as the xe2x80x9cuser interfacexe2x80x9d) have, however, changed significantly over time. In early systems, computer-generated data appeared almost exclusively in alphanumeric format and the human user responded by typing in alphanumeric data. A user was expected to know the syntax and semantics of text-based commands for performing even such simple operations as opening, copying and printing files. In a nutshell, early computers were hard to use and human users had to pay attention to the computer-generated data in order to successfully complete even rudimentary operations.
In an effort to make life easier for computer users, graphical user interfaces were developed. A graphical user interface makes it much easier for a user to perform many operations using simple steps like selecting an icon or using a pointing device, such as a mouse, to select one of several items from a menu or to place a check in a box on the computer display screen. Because computers are easier to use and because users have become much more familiar with how to use them, it is not unknown for users to sometimes operate on xe2x80x9cautopilotxe2x80x9d and trigger unwanted computer operations without first paying serious attention to the data being presented to them on the display screen.
A well-known example of the problems that can result when a computer user triggers computer operations without paying adequate attention are file erase operations. In some early systems, a user could erase one or more listed files in a single step simply by selecting a screen image of a xe2x80x9cerasexe2x80x9d button or by selecting a particular key on a keyboard. If the user was not been paying attention to what he or she was doing, the wrong files could easily be erased. The problem became so prevalent that newer systems added additional steps to the file erase process. After a user initially indicates files to be erased, a pop-up window is generated which asks the user xe2x80x9cDo you really want to raise file xxxxxx.yyy?xe2x80x9d The user is required to respond xe2x80x9cyesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cnoxe2x80x9d before the actual file erase operation is triggered. Unfortunately, users have quickly become familiar with the extra steps and have known to select or enter xe2x80x9cyesxe2x80x9d as a reflex action without being fully aware of what they were doing.
While erasing the wrong file may be aggravating, it is rarely catastrophic. However, as computers begin to be used to control more and more critical processes, such as control of nuclear facilities or health care procedures, the risks increase that a computer user may trigger true catastrophes by failing to pay proper attention to computer-generated data before initiating computer operations.
User inattention can also have severe consequences in the growing field of electronic commerce. It is becoming much more common for users to conduct legal transactions over the Internet, including buying or selling goods or services. For a contract entered into over the Internet to be enforceable, the party who seeks to enforce a contract must be able to show that the other party intended to enter into the contract. Some legal systems allow a party to avoid contractual liability by showing that the party""s supposed assent to the contract was really a mistake. If it is too easy for party to conclude an on-line transaction, for example by clicking on a check box, then it is possible for that party to argue that the action he took was a mistake as he or she performed the action without thinking about it. Parties participating in electronic commerce need a better guarantee that a user""s assent to a contract cannot be avoided using such an argument.
The purpose of the present invention is to present data to computer users in such a way that the users are more likely to pay attention to that data before triggering certain computer operations.
Where data to be presented to a user on a computer display is intended to provoke a response by the user, at least a part of that data is presented as a multi-character string. The proper user input includes a replication of the multi-character text string. An intended computer operation is triggered only if a match is found between the user""s input and the displayed multi-character text string. Since the user must comprehend the multicharacter text string before he or she can even begin to enter data and must then replicate that text string, the chances that the user must pay attention to the displayed data in order to successfully complete the necessary data entry.